


faded

by Anonymous



Series: the knismollymauk agenda [5]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Developing Friendships, F/M, Gen, Recreational Drug Use, Tickling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-05
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-18 15:55:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29860491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: "Hmm," says Molly thoughtfully. "What can I do to convince you of my intentions?""I’m not sure I believe you have intentions."Molly makes athat’s fairnoise. "What can I do to convince you I don’t havebadintentions?"
Relationships: Nott | Veth Brenatto & Mollymauk Tealeaf, Nott | Veth Brenatto/Mollymauk Tealeaf
Series: the knismollymauk agenda [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2178735
Comments: 4
Kudos: 16
Collections: Anonymous





	faded

**Author's Note:**

> this ended up with WAY more meta than I planned. take it anyway. not really romantic but i slapped the tag on there because Veth has the tiniest little crush
> 
> timeline? Don't worry about it

Mollymauk likes any intoxicant he can get his hands on, so it shouldn't be surprising that he smokes, but it still always surprises Veth in camp when she catches a whiff. She glances up and, sure enough, he's cast golden in the light of the campfire, with a slowly smoking bowl in his hand.

"Want a hit?" says Molly absently in her direction, like he's caught Veth watching and it means nothing.

Veth eyes him. He raises an eyebrow, waves the bowl in her direction. "…No," she says. "Thanks."

Molly shrugs. "Suit yourself," he says. He takes another hit, and the moment's gone.

* * *

Veth didn't trust anyone but Caleb at first, but she  _ actively  _ distrusted Molly. Nobody's motivated  _ exclusively _ by having a good time, right? Nobody who acts so sly and conniving ever turns out to be just a sincere person who likes to have fun.

Turns out he's the most genuine of them all, in some ways. No fake name, no hidden backstory or designs. At least, not that he knows about. And Veth knows all that about him now, but she still can't fully shake the way he made her feel at first. Like she's back in school in Felderwyn, the nerdy AV club girl watching across the schoolyard as the rebel kids smoke by the tetherball pole.

And yeah, Veth loves her nerdy AV club husband, but that doesn't mean she doesn't  _ notice _ people. She and Yeza are open, always have been, so there isn't any guilt about noticing Mollymauk. He's kind of impossible  _ not _ to notice. Like now, for example. Kicking up his heels on the dance floor of some middle-of-nowhere tavern, a whirlwind of bright colors and flashing jewelry flitting from Jester to Fjord to Yasha to even, for just one song, Caleb.

Like. Veth isn't  _ blind. _

Oh, shit, he's coming over. Shit shit shit. She danced with him  _ once _ in Hupperdook and now he won't leave her alone about it. There  _ has _ to be some malicious reason for it. She asked him once, why he always tries to get her to dance, and he had said, in a deeply suspicious manner like he says everything, "because I like dancing with you." That can't possibly be all there is to it.

"Hello, my dear Veth," says Mollymauk, standing like a whole fabric shop in front of her. "Come dance with me?"

"Not a chance," says Veth, which she always says, and then he cajoles her, and then they go dance anyway. She waits expectantly.

Instead, Molly sighs a great overdramatic sigh and throws himself down into the chair next to her. "Oh," says Veth.

"Hmm?"

"Nothing." She puts her hands in her lap. Her stomach tends to get butterflies when Molly gets in her space, another sign of his generally malicious nature.

"Oh, alright. Anyway, want to go up to the roof and have a smoke? I'll wager it's nice out."

Veth squints at him. "What do you  _ really _ want?"

"To have a smoke with my friend," Molly says, with an easy smile. "Veth, darling, come on." He tilts his head towards the stairs. His deep red eyes are gleaming with mischief. It's kind of hypnotic.

"You're peer pressuring me," Veth mutters. "They warned us about this in school."

"Is that a yes?" Molly leans closer. He's a little rumpled from dancing.

Butterflies. "…Oh, alright."

Molly grins, all sharp teeth.

* * *

They get up to the roof, and there's a low wooden table and you can see the stars and it  _ is _ nice out. There's a stack of blankets next to the trapdoor, and Veth begins to wonder if they've just found someone's hookup spot, but she grabs a few anyway. Once they spread them out and sit, Mollymauk pulls a bowl from one of the pockets, already packed and everything. He must’ve been planning on a mid-evening smoke.

"You don't actually have to have any," he says to her as an aside. "I know you're more into the drink."

Veth kicks off her boots and socks and stretches out her legs, enjoying the night air on her tired feet. "Mm… I think I will."

"Oh?"

Somehow he manages to make a single syllable sound like he's planning something. Veth narrows her eyes at him. "I  _ am _ a halfling, you know. Pipeweed's kind of our thing."

"Hey, no arguments here." Molly digs his hand into his pocket, frowns. "Blast, I could've sworn I had-"

"Had what?" says Veth smugly. Molly glances over. She holds up his little box that's charmed to make a small flame.

"You  _ are _ a sneaky one," he mumbles. "First hit?"

She takes the bowl, lights it with a practiced hand and takes a long, deep inhale. Mollymauk makes a noise of pleased surprise - and then she coughs, hard, and he cackles at her.

They pass the bowl back and forth for a few minutes. It’s been a minute since Veth was high, but the sensation is still familiar. The smoke settles heavy into her limbs, and she sways gently for a bit before she catches herself. Looking at the stars preoccupies her for several minutes, and when she comes back to herself a little she’s floating, drifting.

"Enjoying yourself yet?" Molly inquires.

His tone is cheeky, like he  _ knows _ the answer is yes. Veth flips him the bird. But the flamebox is still in her hand, and it flips out of her clumsy fingers and under the wooden table.

"Oh fuck," says Veth. She gets down on her knees, wriggles underneath the low table, and grabs the flamebox. But when she goes to scoot back out-

"Uh, Molly?" she calls out, a spike of worry piercing the haze. "Think I’m stuck."

"Mmm? Oh. I got you." There are sounds of motion as Mollymauk goes to lift the table, and then a pause and a  _ heh. _ "Hey, are you ticklish?"

"No," says Veth immediately. She is suddenly, excruciatingly aware that her feet are still bare. "Help me get out -  _ hrck-" _

"Because if you were," Molly continues, circling one claw around and around on her instep, "you’d be in  _ quite _ a predicament."

He flutters his fingers against the ball of her foot once, again. Veth’s leg jerks, traitorous. "I-"

"Well, well, well," comes Mollymauk's purr from above her. "Someone’s a liar."

"I'll kill you," she chokes out. "I'll put you on a spit and -  _ Mmm-aha-hah-molly-" _

"No, no, keep talking," Molly says, very seriously. "I'm listening."

But his nails keep scritching slow circles into the sole of her foot. She tries to kick, tries to get some leverage. Nothing happens except Molly grasping her ankle in one hand to hold her squirming foot still. A helpless half-laugh trips out of her.

"Ticklish, hmm?" Mollymauk says, in a voice like a snake. He gets his fingers in under her toes, and a whole stream of squeaky giggles bubbles up out of her. Veth isn’t even that ticklish, normally, but Molly is  _ wicked _ with his hands and she’s feeling everything three times as much and the sensations are zinging up her legs and crawling up her back. She flops around as best as she can, helpless and snorting. Above her, she can hear him laughing quietly.

"Hey, Veth," Molly says suddenly, conversational. He stops tickling her, but doesn’t let go of her foot. "Why’re you suspicious of me?"

"Wh -  _ what kind of a question is-" _

"Ah-ah," Molly chides her. He tickles for a moment at her ankle, a moment at the top of her foot. "I’m asking the questions here."

Veth doesn’t say anything. After a moment, Molly says, "Suit yourself."

There’s no mercy this time. He grips her ankle firmly in one hand and scribbles his nails around her heel, down her sole, over the ball of her foot and around her toes. Veth dissolves into laughter, wriggling ineffectually under the weight of the table. Through it, she can hear him snickering.  _ "Mollymauk-" _

_ "Veth," _ Molly singsongs back, mocking. "I’ll stop tickling you if you answer…"

He switches to her other foot, and she feels his nails dancing up and down her instep, sensation coming in waves and waves. Veth’s limbs feel heavy and helpless and by the time she reacts to one tickle there’s another and another and finally she manages to wheeze out,  _ "Wait - stop - okay-" _

Molly pauses, obliging. Veth catches her breath, and then repeats, "Okay. Jeez, why do you  _ care  _ about -  _ hhahahahah, okay, okay!" _ He stops again. "It’s - you’re - you’re a suspicious person, alright? Listen, I know you want something. I just don’t know what yet. I can’t figure out your ulterior motive, but I  _ know  _ there has to be one."

"My… ulterior motive?"

_ "Yeah,"  _ says Veth, gaining steam. She’ll probably regret giving away her suspicions once she sobers up, but between the high and the tickling and the fact that she doesn’t actually have to look at Molly while she does it, she's feeling bold. "Like, the other day you brought Beau some really nice wine. And I’ve seen you make flower crowns for Caleb. Or buy pretty things for Jester. And I can’t figure out  _ why." _

"Oh. I was trying to be nice."

"Nobody is just  _ nice _ for no reason!"

He doesn’t say anything to that.

_ "…Maybe _ you’re nice," Veth mutters, reluctantly. Her cheeks are still aching from the laughter. "I don’t know yet."

"Would you believe me if I said I am nice?"

_ "That’s something someone with an ulterior motive would say!" _

"Hmm," says Molly thoughtfully. He doesn’t sound hurt. Not that she cares or anything. "What can I do to convince you of my intentions?"

"I’m not sure I believe you have intentions."

Molly makes a  _ that’s fair _ noise. "What can I do to convince you I don’t have  _ bad  _ intentions?"

"You tell me."

"Well," says Molly, "I was thinking inviting you up to the roof for a smoke would be a good start."

"…I guess that’ll do."

Molly lifts up the table. Veth scrambles back to the blanket and sits on her feet. Molly sits back down, cross-legged, next to her. He’s grinning. "You’re a horrible friend," she accuses him.

"The worst," Molly agrees. "Unfortunately, you also think I'm nice." He smirks his devilish smirk down at her and holds up the bowl. "Have another hit?"

_ "Ugh," _ says Veth.

But she nods, wiping away a little laughter-tear from the corner of her eye. Molly holds the glass to her lips, flicks the flamebox. Veth inhales a little more confidently this time, and manages not to cough. The high washes over her a moment later. "Whoooo," she says.

Molly grins at her. "Yeah?"

"Have a hit yourself." He obliges. "Have another." He cocks an eyebrow at her, but the bowl is still glowing with cherry-red coals, so he takes a second.

"You're… quite a bad influence," he says. Veth notices, for the first time, that he’s talking more slowly than usual.

"You high?" she inquires.

"Ya think?"

"Good," she says, and tackles him.

He isn’t expecting it, so she manages to wrestle him down to the ground and get her hands inside his coat before he responds. "Huh?!" says Mollymauk, and then, with a  _ delightful _ note of panic: "Wait -  _ Veth-" _

It's too late. She's already kneading at his ribs with small, nimble fingers. Molly is bigger and stronger than she is, but he's also sluggish with the high and caught off-guard. There's a rush of shocked giggles before he wrestles Veth away.

In the dark, he looks almost -  _ nervous. _ He clears his throat, but his arms are still firmly clamped to his sides. "Now, now, no need for that between friends-"

"Ticklish, hmm?" Veth inquires, throwing his own teasing back at him.

Molly shrinks down and sputters a bit at the word, almost like a normal person without ulterior motives. Huh.

Veth pokes at his side, and he slams his arm down to protect himself. She pinches lightly at his tummy, and when he swats her hand away from there, she goes for the hip instead, getting her fingers in a different spot whenever Mollymauk goes to protect the first. He could probably get away if he really tried, but his limbs are just flopping around as he tries to react. His smile is stretching broad and involuntary.  _ "Veth _ \- hhahah - Veth, I'm high, this ihihihisn't  _ fair-" _

"Sure isn't," she agrees. But then Molly manages to turn onto his side and get his hands on  _ her _ tummy, and now  _ she _ has to smack his hands away and it isn't really working. She wriggles away, lightning-quick.

Molly props himself up on an elbow. He's still smiling, wide and silly. "Yeah, that's what I thought -  _ Veheheth-" _

Veth has gotten her hands in underneath him and is going for both sides. There are a few hazy, ineffective pushes from Mollymauk, and then, to Veth's absolute delight, he flops down on his side facing away from her and curls up, shaking with giggles. His tummy is protected, of course, but Veth has free reign to tickle up and down, exploring the jut of his hipbones and the softness of his sides and the sensitivity of his ribs. She gets her fingers into his underarms at one point, and he  _ whines _ through his helpless cascade of  _ ahah - hahaha - heh - Veth, please- _

"Maybe you are a nice person," she decides.

"Oh, _thahahahat's_ what you're getting from ahahahall this?!" Mollymauk protests, sounding just like a normal person.

Veth is pretty sure he's going to go for revenge as soon as he's capable. But when she finally lets up, Molly just throws his arms around her, still snickering.

Veth tenses for a moment, then relaxes. She’s way too high to move away from someone warm and cuddly, and maybe,  _ maybe _ she’d want to snuggle up to Mollymauk anyway. Maybe sometimes physical contact is… acceptable.

She isn't just going to let him  _ live, _ though. She manages to get in a squeeze on his knee, and he jerks like he's been electrocuted.

_ "Veth," _ he warns. To no avail. She's already cackling. He pinches her side. She jumps away for a moment with a yelp, and he smirks. "Don’t start fights you can’t finish."

"I'll kill you," Veth mumbles.

"Mmhmm." Molly sits up and pats a bit at his ruffled hair. He looks overwhelmed and happy. It's an unnervingly personable look. "Hey, c'mon, let's go downstairs." He grins at her, all sharp teeth. "I want to dance more."

"I'm not gonna dance with you after  _ that-" _

"I think you will," he singsongs.

And, well. Maybe she does.

**Author's Note:**

> I am on [tumblr](http://ticklishnonsense.tumblr.com)


End file.
